Reading Time:5minutes There is a negative perception of Lebanese wine that views it as overpriced and headache-inducing. This perception may even be shared by some readers of this piece. Luckily, those in the retail and hospitality industries who sell local wine say that this misconception is changing over time. There is a vast range of Lebanese wines…

Reading Time:7minutes Lebanon has one of the oldest wine heritages in the world. It has been producing and trading wine for the past 6,000 years; is home to the world’s largest Bacchus temple, dedicated to the god of wine; and one of its cities, Botrys (Batroun), was named after the ancient Greek for grape bunch. Under Ottoman…

Reading Time:8minutes Although Lebanon has a rich history of wine production, dating back to the Phoenicians who used to trade it, it has only recently reached a high level of maturity that often leads to introspection and a questioning of identity. The last decade saw the number of wineries in Lebanon go up from about 20 to…

Reading Time:5minutes Late August and September were harvest months for Lebanon’s wineries, and the energy across vineyards, whether in Batroun or the Bekaa valley, was palatable. From grape picking at dawn to Fête des Vendanges brunches (post-harvest celebrations) that stretched until sunset; from gathering around a table de tri (sorting table) for destemming to tasting that first…

Reading Time:7minutes Lebanese wine has been filling many a glass both locally and globally as the country’s winemakers continue their efforts to grow their market share and as new boutique wineries are launched. Coming out of the Lebanese Civil War with just eight wineries, the wine industry in Lebanon has grown to over five times that number,…

Reading Time:5minutes There are arguably few things more enjoyable than sipping on a good glass of wine after a long day. Selecting a brand of wine for that pleasure is not as simple as it seems though: from the quality to the appearance and the image that a specific wine invokes in your mind as a consumer,…

Reading Time:10minutes There’s a popular joke in the wine industry which goes: “Do you know how to make a million dollars out of a small winery? Start out with five million!” The joke illustrates why owning a small winery is perceived more as an expensive hobby or an act of passion than a money making venture. At…

Reading Time:6minutes Deir El Ahmar, a Christian village in the northern Bekaa valley’s Hermel-Baalbek region, is more notorious for its marijuana plantations than it is for great wines. But winemaking is precisely what the Coteaux d’Heliopolis Cooperative now wants their village to become known for. The birth of the Cooperative Having never really felt the government’s support…